Rating Team India's top 5 men's ODI batters in 2022

Since the focus in 2022 was primarily on preparing for the T20 World Cup, with regard to white-ball cricket, ODIs pretty much took a backseat. Still, Team India ended up playing a decent number of ODIs this year - 24 - to be exact. They won 14 and lost eight of those games, with two matches producing no results.

The Men in Blue began the year on a disappointing note, going down 0-3 to South Africa in a three-match away ODI series. After thumping West Indies 3-0 at home, they impressed in England, winning a tightly-contested three-match series by a 2-1 margin.

After easy ODI series wins in the Caribbean and Zimbabwe, they got the better of the Proteas 2-1 at home towards the end of the year. However, India went down to New Zealand 1-0 and Bangladesh 1-2 in their last two ODI assignments of 2022.

As 2022 draws to a close, we go into rewind mode and rate Team India's top five men's ODI batters of the year.

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#1 Shreyas Iyer (8.5/10)

Team India batter Shreyas Iyer during the tour of New Zealand. Pic: Getty Images

Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was India’s leading run-getter in ODIs in 2022. He played 17 matches, scoring 724 runs, including one century and six fifties, at an average of 55.69 and an excellent strike rate of 91.52.

Shreyas scored a wonderful 113* against South Africa in the Ranchi ODI and hit a sublime 80 against the Kiwis in Auckland. Although the right-handed batter’s 82 against Bangladesh in Mirpur was also an impressive knock, he ended up on the losing side.

At the same time, his woes against the short ball continued. Shreyas struggled in South Africa at the start of the year, scoring 17, 11, and 26 as the Proteas blanked the Men in Blue 3-0. This is one area that is definitely his Achilles' heel.

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#2 Shubman Gill (7.5/10)

Shubman Gill excelled in ODIs in 2022. Pic: Getty Images

Shubman Gill had a fantastic year for India as far as ODIs were concerned. He played 15 matches, smashing 638 runs at an average of 70.88 and a strike rate of 102.57, with one hundred and four fifties to his name. The young opener was the Player of the Tournament in consecutive ODI series against West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The elegant 23-year-old registered scores of 64, 43, and 98* against the Windies and followed it up with 82*, 33, and 130, his maiden ODI ton, versus Zimbabwe in Harare. Gill, though, still needs to work on his batting against top teams and his consistency.

The right-handed batter managed only one half-century in his last six ODI knocks of 2022. Gill scored three, 28, and 49 against South Africa at home and 50, 45*, and 13 in New Zealand. He got starts but failed to convert them into big scores.

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#3 Rishabh Pant (7/10)

Rishabh Pant scored a high-quality ton in Manchester. Pic: Getty Images

Keeper-batter Rishabh Pant played 12 ODIs in 2022, scoring 336 runs at an average of 37.33 and an impressive strike rate of 96.55. Unlike in Tests, he was not consistent in the white-ball formats. However, he played two quality knocks.

Pant’s unbeaten 125* off 113 balls against England in the Manchester ODI was top-class. This was the deciding match of the series and India were in trouble, having lost early wickets in a tough chase. However, Pant absorbed the pressure in a commendable fashion and batted with great maturity to lift India to victory.

The 25-year-old, who is currently recuperating in hospital after a horrific car crash, also scored a scintillating 85 off 71 against South Africa in Paarl, albeit in a losing cause.

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#4 Ishan Kishan (7/10)

Ishan Kishan broke the record for the fastest men’s double hundred in one-dayers. Pic: Getty Images

Ishan Kishan played only eight ODIs in 2022 but hammered 417 runs at an average of 59.57 and a strike rate of 109.73. His standout performance, of course, came in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram. The opportunity arose for the left-handed batter after Rohit Sharma was ruled out due to injury and he grabbed it with both hands.

Kishan clobbered the fastest ODI double ton in men’s cricket, getting to the landmark in only 126 balls and easily beating Chris Gayle’s record - 138 balls. The 24-year-old ended up scoring 210 off 131 balls with the aid of 24 fours and 10 sixes. He was dismissed in the 36th over and himself admitted afterwards that he could have scored a 300 had he batted on.

Earlier, the southpaw had also scored 93 off 84 balls at his home ground in Ranchi against South Africa. With Shikhar Dhawan dropped from the ODI team for the home series against Sri Lanka, Kishan should get a lot more opportunities to establish himself.

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#5 Sanju Samson (6.5/10)

Team India keeper-batter Sanju Samson. Pic: Getty Images

Kerala wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has not been picked in the Indian team for the ODIs against Sri Lanka. He has often been benched even when he has been part of the ODI squad. However, Samson gave a good account of himself in the limited opportunities he received in the ODIs in 2022.

In 10 matches, he scored 284 runs at an average of 71 and an excellent strike rate of 105.57. After a half-century against the West Indies in the Port of Spain, he did reasonably well against Zimbabwe.

Samson was unbeaten in the home series against South Africa. He scored a brilliant 86* in Lucknow and followed it up with 30* and two*. In the only ODI he played in New Zealand in Auckland, he chipped in with a handy 36.

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